Fugitive in France
by Karen Scollins
Summary: Ginny Weasley has seen plenty of murders while she trains to become a hit wizard, but when a certain murderer catches her eye, she can’t stay away. But when he’s convicted and flees the country, will she go after him? Ch. 4 up!
1. In the Snake’s Den

**Title:** Fugitive in France **  
Author name: **Karen Scollins  
**Author email:** KuteKaren66@yahoo.com   
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure  
**Rating:** PG-13   
**Summary:** Ginny Weasley has seen plenty of murders while she trains to become a hit wizard, but when a certain murderer catches her eye, she can't stay away. But when he's convicted and flees the country, will she go after him?   
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.   
**Author notes:** This idea popped into my head, and I couldn't pass it up. I have never written a story like this before, so this is completely new territory for me. Thanks a bundle to Skippy for betaing this for me! Kudos to her for putting up with me.

****

**Chapter 1: In the Snake's Den **

Draco Malfoy relaxed as he eased back in his overly stuffed armchair. He stretched out his legs lazily and laid them on top of his desk, admiring the shine of his boots. The two oak doors to his right were closed as they were every night. They weren't locked tonight as Draco was expecting visitors that night.

The only source of light came from moonlight from a large window. The moonlight gave the room an almost eerie glow, and Draco's pale skin was one of the sole things that could be seen in the room.

The grandfather clock in the corner of his study chimed twelve times. He smirked to himself, taking a large swig of his half empty (or some would say half full) glass of brandy. 

_Ministry of Magic must be losing their touch, _he mused to himself, pouring himself another glass of brandy. _The bodies had been laying on the front doorstep for how many hours now? Four? And they haven't found them yet._

He sneered quietly to himself. A house elf had to have found the bodies at least an hour after he'd left them. He'd told them specifically that the front doorstep was filthy and that he wanted so clean that he could see his reflection.

Earlier that evening, he had sent his mother and grandfather out, so no one was home but him when he called Blaise Zabini and Malcolm Baddock over to discuss business. Several days earlier, he'd discovered that during a deal they had with a bloke in France, they'd been keeping a few extra galleons to themselves. 

So, he'd invited them over. They had brandy, drank, discussed women, and laughed. Then, when Draco announced simply that they should get started on business, he took out a bag of galleons from his desk drawer and plopped it in front of them.

He began a long speech about loyalty and cheating, which he thought had gone rather nicely. Then, at the end, he took out his wand, muttered "Avada Kevadra" twice without any qualms and they were both dead before the house elves could bring in more brandy.

Footsteps that came pounding down the hallway drug him out of his thoughts. He grinned. Finally, what he'd been waiting for that night. His oak doors exploded open, and in came three Ministry men with their wands out and pointing at his chest across the room. The man in the middle was none other then Harry Potter, the boy who lived.

Draco smirked as a way of greeting. "I was expecting you earlier than this. Losing your touch, eh Potter?" He rose from his chair and crossed the room, taking out three more glasses. "Brandy, anyone?" he offered. The men stood silently with expressionless faces. "No? Well, more for me then."

He calmly crossed the room, locking his hands behind his back and gazing out the window. The moonlight revealed stern, premature wrinkles and tired eyes. 

Harry's eyes glinted maliciously."Mr. Malfoy, you are under arrest for two charges of murder in the first degree."

Draco took another swallow of his brandy and shrugged. "Well, you can't win them all, can you, Potter? You'd know, since you haven't been able to hang me for a murder in the past three years." 

Harry's face was firm. "This isn't a joking matter, Malfoy. These charges are one hundred percent real, and we have evidence. I'm doing all I can to make sure you get the kiss." 

Draco turned around, unfazed. He crossed the room, until he was almost nose to nose with Harry. "I'm flattered, Potter, really, but I'm afraid I fly on the other side of the pitch. I do not wish to have mouth to mouth contact with you or any of your bodyguards."

Harry's eyes narrowed, and his fists clenched at his side. 

"Harry," a man with sandy brown hair spoke beside him, "just bind him, so we can get the bloody hell out of here."

Draco recognized him a moment later as Seamus Finnigan. 

"He's right, Potter." Draco held up his arms innocently. "Take me in. I won't fight."

"Like hell you won't," Harry growled.

"Don't trust me, Potter? That's hurtful."

Harry suddenly felt like he was transported back to his days in Hogwarts. It was just him and Malfoy, having another face off in the corridor. Before a second thought could cross Harry's head, he punched Draco with all his might. 

"Harry!" Seamus cried, stepping between the school rivals. Draco stumbled backward slightly, clutching his nose as blood oozed through his fingers.

"You'll pay for that one, Potter," he threatened. "Out of my way, Finnigan." 

"Malfoy, don't be crazy. You can't get out of here by throwing a few punches. You'll have to kill us all to leave, and I don't think you want three more murders on your record," Seamus said.

"I...don't...bloody...care," Draco said, slowly saying each word between clenched teeth. Between the gap between the two men's heads in front of Harry, he threw his fist into Harry's skull. 

Slightly startled, Harry fell backward onto the ground, but he quickly pushed himself up, trying to grab at anything he could, only managing a fistful of Draco's cloak.

"Potter, back off!" the gruff voice of the third man ordered. "We'll get him."

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Seamus shouted as red sparks lit the dark room. Seamus stopped as soon as he heard a loud thud in front of him. He lowered his wand and saw the unconscious body of Draco Malfoy on the floor.

"We've got him. Now let's take the bloody portkey out of here," Seamus said, picking up Draco's unconscious body by the arm and giving a lopsided grin. "I think we should add assault of ministry officials." 

The third man chuckled slightly, taking a worn, black top hat out of his pocket and holding it out to everyone.

"We won't let him get off this time," Harry declared firmly, "He's gotten way with the murders of Creevy, Smith, Parkinson, and God knows who else."

"We'll get him, Harry," Seamus said encouragingly, patting him on the back. "Let's just go inform Whittle and Fudge first."

He reached out and took hold of the hat. Harry sighed and did the same. Several seconds later, they were blasted off their feet and on their way back to the office with Draco's body.

****

Ginny Weasley stared blankly at the report she was supposed to be proofing for her boss. This was not her idea of how to spend her Friday night. For everyone else in her department, it'd been an exciting day. People attacking each other, death threats, the works. But for her, she'd been reading documents for Whittle all day long. Not the kind of work she expected when she took this job.

She sighed as she flipped a page in her report. It was incredibly dull reading about having a separate branch for capturing goblin fugitives. 

There was a pop in the room adjacent to the one she was in. Her head perked up. Someone entering the office at- she looked at her watch- 12:27 ? It had to be more interesting then goblins.

She crossed the room anxiously and opened the door, only to reveal Seamus Finnigan, John Wade, and Harry Potter. Floating above them was a body with blonde hair, hidden in the shadows.

"Gin, we've got him!" Harry said triumphantly.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Got who?"

"Malfoy. We finally hooked Malfoy for murder. Two charges."

"Oh. Good." Ginny turned back around returned to her report on goblins. She was pleased for Harry, but she wouldn't have anything to do with this, unless Whittle wanted her to destroy some documents about him.

"Is Whittle in?" asked Wade, cutting straight to the chase. He walked into the office first with Seamus, who was levitating Malfoy, and Harry behind him.

"Oh. Yes, he's in his office."

"Excellent," Seamus said, grinning, "Tonight we can talk to Whittle, possibly Fudge, and we can get a hearing set up soon as possible." 

"With luck, he'll be in Azkaban and kissed before the year is done with," Harry added happily.

They made way for Whittle's office. Seamus called behind him to Ginny,

"Watch our criminal for us, will you?" He gave a swish of his wand, and Malfoy floated over a bench and landed with a long bang. Ginny smiled, noticing Seamus hadn't been especially gentle.

Ginny looked back down at her report, but she listened to the loud, muffled voices from inside her boss's office. She glanced up at the bench and watched Malfoy lay there. His chest rose up and down, so they hadn't killed him yet. She guessed they had just stunned them, which was obvious since that's how they handled hostile criminals.

Blood was dried on his face, and his nose was turning a queer purple color. She blinked and went back to work. No point in thinking about him, since he'd be dead or in Azkaban soon. 

The door of the office exploded open, revealing Ginny's usually stern, staid boss with a huge grin covering his face.

"Well," he said cheerfully, taking no specific notice to Ginny, "let's wake him up already. I have a few questions for our murderer!"

Seamus took out his wand and muttered, "Ennervate." 

Ginny looked up curiously as the gray eyes of Draco Malfoy fluttered open. Whittle's grin grew larger, if it was possible.

"Nice to see you up, Malfoy. Welcome to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. 

**A/N: **Reviews make my day. This is my first real attempt at a chaptered story like this, so be honest. If you like it, tell me. If you hate it, tell me, but do know that flames will be used to heat my freezing hands until our heater works. The next chapter should be expected sometime next week, hopefully. 


	2. Murder Motives

****

Chapter 2: Murder Motives

"Weasley." Whittle's voice startled Ginny, causing her to jump slightly in her chair. "Get my Quick Quill notes from my office."

"Oh, right. Sure." She stood up, slightly disappointed that she'd miss the first part of the questioning. 

The office door closed behind everyone, signaling that Ginny was no longer present in the room. Whittle smiled warmly at Draco.

"So, do you remember why you're here, Mr. Malfoy?" Whittle asked, his voice dripping with cheeriness. 

Draco gave a slight shrug and crossed his hands together of his chest, not attempting to sit up. "Why wouldn't I? Though I would like to know why I had to be attacked in my own home when I simply defended myself-"

"You assaulted a ministry official," Seamus interrupted firmly, "And we had reason to believe you were a hostile criminal. We were just doing our job."

"I only _assaulted _him after Potter punched me in my nose," Draco pointed out. "Which I still can't feel."

Whittle looked slightly agitated already. He shot a fast glance behind him at Harry. "Let's stick to the charges, _gentlemen_." He stressed the last word strenuously. 

"I could file charges against the ministry, and I have half a mind to do so," Draco declared.

"I assure you, Mr. Malfoy, there is no reason to for anyone in this room to file the charge of assault."

The door of Whittle's office reopened, and Ginny came back out, empty handed and looking annoyed.

"Sir, your Quick Quill Notes are not in your office. You left them out here earlier when Rose Mathews came to talk to you," Ginny said, eyes filled with slight irritation.

"Oh, did I?" Whittle replied distractedly. "Well, set it up, then, Weasley." 

"So, will we be repeating everything we just said for the notes?" Draco asked, eyes glinting with frustration.

"I don't see a real need," Whittle said, scratching his forehead absent mindedly.

"I do," Draco demanded indignantly. He sat up right now, fury flickering vibrantly in his eyes and provocation flashing plainly across his face. "I am bloody pressing charges against Potter!"

"Mr. Malfoy, I-"

Harry interjected, exploding, "You won't be able to do anything to me, Malfoy. You're as good as in Azkaban now. Two sloppy murders of your closest _friends_. You left clues that even an imperceptive muggle could see from…ten thousand miles away!" 

Ginny looked up from the Quick Quill Notes, trying to frantically get it to work to have this written down. Seamus is looking like he was trying extremely hard not smile, and Wade was frowning at Harry.

"Weasley, are you getting this down?" Whittle asked anxiously, shooting a glance behind him. 

Wade looked annoyed. "Potter, stop harassing-"

But Harry wasn't done yet. He continued, his face turning a deep red color, and one could doubt whether he was breathing or not. "Is that how you treat your friends, Malfoy? Kill them when they are no longer any use to you?" 

Once Harry's finishing yelling, Draco just blinked for a minute. Then, he answered in his silky smooth voice, seeming unaffected by Harry's outburst, 

"Yes, I do actually. What do you do when your friends cheat you on a deal? Talk about your feelings?" 

Harry made a disgruntled noise and turned around furiously, running his hand through his dark, tangled hair. There is an unsettling silence in the room. Ginny cleared her throat.

"The Quick Quill Notes are ready," she said. 

"Right. Well, that'll be all, Weasley."

Ginny turned around and sat back down at her desk, picking up her report, but her ears were pricked with anticipation of the questioning. 

"So, where were we?" Whittle asked, laughing slightly, "Right, Mr. Malfoy, your charges."

The Quick Quill Notes is already zooming away, and curiously, Ginny looked down at what it was writing.

__

Mr. Avery Whittle is flustered by something, but as he tries to hide it, his brown eyes sparkle with amusement. He brings up the subject of the charges brought up against Mr. Malfoy. There's utter silence as Mr. Malfoy-

Ginny tore her gaze away, stealing a glance at Malfoy, who looked completely calm for a man who had been charged with two counts of murder.

"Yes, well," Whittle cleared his throat. "Wade?"

Wade looked slightly surprised, but he hid it. "Right. Mr. Malfoy, you have been charged with two counts of murder in the first degree, correct?"

__

Wade, who is baffled at why he's questioning the criminal, asks Mr. Malfoy if he is aware that he's been charged with two counts of murder in the first degree…

Draco's expression changed slightly from serene to amusement. "Yes, I am, though you think you'd remembering charging me since I was knocked unconscious."

"When we were doing our job," muttered Seamus.

"So, you're accused of murdering Malcolm Baddock and Blaise Zabini. Friends of yours, right?"

"I suppose you could say that," Draco replied.

"So," Wade continued, "did you kill them?"

__

Mr. Wade asks if two victims he's accused of murdering are friends of his. After a pause, Mr. Malfoy replies that he supposes he claims them as his friends. Mr. Wade proceeds to ask whether he killed them. There's discomfort around the room that could be cut with a knife…

Harry scoffed as he and Seamus listened as they leaned on a wall. Whittle clutched the edge of Ginny's desk, shooting quick glances every so often at the Quick Quill Notes and then back at Draco.

"Yes," Draco replied clearly, "Yes, I did kill them."

Ginny jerked her head up from her scribbling. Harry almost lost his balance from the wall. Whittle perked up slightly, and the goofy grin returned to his face.

Wade, a man who keeps up a stiff appearance, even lost his composure for a moment. "So, you killed them…all right. Um…" His voice trails off.

"Any more questions?" Draco seems to be enjoying the reaction from his last statement. 

Wade looks back questionably at Whittle. "Um, yes…" he said, but Whittle shakes his head. "I mean, no. You're done."

"Well," Whittle said, rubbing his hands together, "good work, everyone. Seamus, if you'll bind Mr. Malfoy, I'd like to talk to you all in my office before. We owl the Minister."

"No problem," Seamus said, taking out his wand. He binds Draco to the same bench he dropped him on before. The rest of the men file silently into Whittle's office. 

Before Seamus leaves, he shot Ginny a reproachful look that reads "Sorry about leaving him." 

Ginny smiled slightly as the door slammed shut, and she went back to her report.

****

Inside Whittle's office, Ginny heard a loud whoop. She bit her lip, so she wouldn't laugh and forced herself to look down at her report. She was determined not to look up at Malfoy, a confessed murderer, which might lead to a start of a conversation. 

"I bet you're wondering why I killed the bastards," Draco said bluntly. 

Ginny, taken aback, snapped her head up. Draco looked just as composed as he did during the questioning or even more, if it was possible. 

"Well…erm, it…crossed my mind, but I wasn't…_wondering_ about it, exactly," she stumbled. 

"Well, I'll tell you if you unbind me," he said, his voice coated with innocence. He smiled in a friendly manner at her. The smile vanished, though, as soon as it appeared.

Ginny was even more taken aback. She knew the Malfoy family since she was a young girl, but she had not once seen one of them smile, if you could call what he did a smile . It was then that what he said reached her ears, and she comprehended. He wanted her to unbind him? No wonder he was being more pleasant then usual.

"No," she said, "I won't."

Draco shrugged. "It was worth a shot. I'll tell you why I killed them anyway."

Ginny opened her mouth to say that she didn't want to hear about his motives, but no words came out. Instead, she sat there, looking like an unflattering idiot.

"They were cheating me in a deal."

Ginny stared at him, baffled. "So, you killed them over a few galleons?"

He shrugged, leaning back into the bench as much as he could with his hands and legs bound. "That's what I thought I'd be doing at first, but turns out the bastards were trying to bankrupt me. Creating bad alliances with my associates and basically trying to take every last galleon I own."

"So you killed them?" she repeated.

"Yes, I killed them," he said, looking at her like she was an utter fool. "You do know what murder is, don't you? I confessed to it a few minutes ago."

"I know what murder is," Ginny snapped back. "I'm not a idiot."

Draco looked doubtful. His eyebrow arched and his smirk grew larger. Ginny felt her cheeks burn. She quickly went back to work, scribbling down utter nonsense, so she would have an excuse not to be engaged in conversation with Malfoy again.

"Do you know what bloody time it is?" Draco's voice startled her, causing her elbow to knock over her ink.

__

Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him.

Slowly, her quill stopped on the edge of her paper. She stole a glance at her watch. 1:04. How did it get to be so late?

She looked up at Draco, who, thankfully, was looking around the room and not at her. His face was covered in disdain, and Ginny had an urge to smack it. He looked back around at her. 

"Why did you take this job?" Draco asked in a neutral voice, but somehow it sounded like he was saying: "You're job is in a dumpy place where you have to work late, and it looks boring. Why the hell did you choose it?'

Ginny pursed her lips, resolved not to reply to his comment. He muttered something under his breath and shook his head slightly. 

"I'm training to be a hit wizard." It came out before she could stop it. 

He was silent, and Ginny wondered if he hadn't heard her. She looked over at him and into his eyes. Her stomach squirmed and felt like it did a small flip flop. 

"Interesting," he answered.

Ginny couldn't decide whether or not he was being serious or sarcastic, and before she could ask, the door of the office opened suddenly. Ginny jumped again. 

"Minister's replied to our owl," Wade said, not directing his comment to anyone in particular, so Ginny was unsure of whether to reply or not.

Seamus walked over to Malfoy and began to unbind him. 

"You'll be shipped off to La Stanza di Attesa tonight, Malfoy, and you will remain there until your hearing," Wade informed, "The bus will be here to take you shortly. Finnigan." 

As soon as Malfoy is unbound by Seamus, he was bound again and being escorted quickly out of the room through the door. Ginny watched Seamus lead Malfoy out of the room with an interest that caught Harry's eye.

"So, you heading home now, Ginny?" Harry asked, stepping in the middle of her view.

"Oh, yes, I suppose I ought to." She stood up, picking up her cloak and pocket book absent mindedly.

"I'll walk you out," Harry offered, "I have to go owl Ron and Hermione now, though. You going to that bloody dinner they invited us to?"

Ginny nodded as they began walking outside. As soon as they opened the front door, they met a fresh breeze that signaled that it was winter outside and caused Ginny to pull her cloak tighter around her body. Ginny saw that Seamus and Draco were still outside, Seamus tapping his foot impatiently.

"Fudge hasn't sent us the bloody bus yet," he swore. "I suppose it was too much for him to remember to send it over for us. He promised us it'd be here as soon as we got outside to cause less trouble." 

"It'll come," Harry said, "If not, you can flag it down yourself." 

Seamus mumbled something under his breath. Harry turned to Malfoy.

"I guess this is good-bye, Malfoy. The next time I see you, you'll be in prison."

Draco looked bemused. "What crime are you planning on committing? I'll be happy if I never see you again in my bloody life." 

"You brought this onto yourself, Malfoy, by killing those two. Don't be mad at me for-"

"Yes, yes, I know. Doing your job. This is the most I've heard that phrase used since…well, ever."

Harry sighed, ignoring Malfoy's comment and turning to Ginny. "I am going to head to Ron's tonight. Do you want to come with me?"

She felt awkward having a personal conversation in front of a prisoner. She began to walk away. "No. I'm just going home. Colin will wonder where I am. I'll see you."

"Bye, then." Harry gave a small wave and began walking in the other direction Ginny was headed.

"I'll miss you, Potter," Draco added sarcastically to the black silhouette already halfway down the street. 

"Night, Seamus," Ginny called, starting to walk off.

"See you tomorrow, right, Ginny?"

"Hm. Oh, right." She turned around for a moment, regretting it. Both men were staring at her. She shivered unconsciously under her cloak and made her way home. 

****

A/N: Here's the second installment. I'm not too fond of this chapter, actually; it was simply necessary. Dialogue just took over. I hope you enjoyed, anyway. Big thanks to everyone who reviewed the first time. The third chapter will hopefully be up in a week's time. Hope you enjoyed.

A translation of the place Draco is getting sent. It's Italian for "The Waiting Place". I know we're in Britian in this story, but go with it.


	3. En français

****

Chapter 3: En français

__

Ginny's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself in almost utter darkness. She bolted up, scanning wherever it was that she was at. A candle on the other side of the room was lit, revealing rich, dark green curtains that were tied over a window.

Ginny pushed herself off the ground and walked toward the window, her footsteps making a soft thud on the freezing stone floor. She pulled back the curtains, feeling the lush and expensive fabric under her fingers. Moonlight poured from the window into the room, allowing Ginny to have a better look at her surroundings.

To her right there were two green armchairs facing opposite of a fireplace. There was a small end table by each chair, one of them with a glass of brandy that was only half full. 

On the other side of her was a mahogany desk that had parchment and quills thrown over its top. Curiously, Ginny wandered over to the desk, picking up a book that caught her eye. The cover was a deep red colour with bold, gold lettering across it that read: Le Journal d'un Weasley. It was French, but Ginny didn't know that since she only knew "please" and "what time is it?" in French. But the world Weasley gleamed brilliantly in her eyes.

Weasley. A journal of a Weasley.

She opened the journal and a single sentence was printed on the first page: Le monde est allé fâché. 

She blinked and turned another page. The diary obviously wasn't written in a speck of English. She shut it and placed it in the spot she found it on the desk. Silently, she crossed the room and found the bookshelf. She reached up to pick up another book that read Le Travail du Serpent.

"Put this away! It is not meant for your eyes!" a deep, male voice ordered in a loud voice. It startled her, and she gave a small shriek. The book fell to the floor with a loud clatter. She turned around, expecting to see a man in the room, but it was empty as it had been before. She took a step forward.

"Hello?" she called in a squeaky voice nervously. She took another step forward, but ran into something solid with her bare foot. It was soft and warm under her skin. Horrified, she looked down, and she let herself scream loudly. 

Her scream echoed throughout the room. She had run into a dead body. At least, she thought it a dead body. A person was lying on the floor in a heap, not moving or responding to her touch. She slowly eased backward until she felt her hands touch the bookshelf.

Before she could decide what to do, there was the sound of a door opening. She tore her eyes from the body and looked up to see the door of the room she had missed before open. She tried to think of an explanation to give the intruder of why she was here. Something…Something to explain…

A black figure entered the room, not looking up once. He walked toward to where she was standing, and her chest tightened out of nervousness. 

"I'm sorry," Ginny began to apologize in a garbled voice, but the figure started suddenly, obviously just as surprised to see her there as she was to be here.

He wore a black cloak with a hood over his head, so she couldn't make out his face. She felt her heart beat quicken as his hand was reached out, seeming like he would touch her face, but he stopped. 

"I don't know how I got here…" she tried to continue, but the words seemed to stop forming at her tongue and were unvoiced. His hands went up again, and she flinched, thinking he was going to grab her. Instead, he pulled off his hood. Curiously, Ginny watched. The shadows slowly fell down his face revealing almost blonde white hair and silver eyes that pierced through the darkness.

****

A week later, Ginny had not seen or heard anything about Draco Malfoy's fate, until Harry came in to her department that afternoon, with an almost goofy grin on his face.

"His hearing is today," Harry said, omitting any form of a greeting.

Ginny looked up from the file cabinet, pushing several locks of her hair behind her ear in order to see Harry properly. "Whose hearing?"

"Malfoy's." Harry looked as if he were the one who was on trial for murder. "Fudge moved it up. It's scheduled for three this afternoon."

Ginny glanced down at her watch automatically. "That's in fifteen minutes."

Harry nodded briskly. "I know. He should be arriving any moment."

"Arriving? Here?" Ginny asked, surprised. "But Whittle's out sick today with the flu, so if that's why…"

"No, no. We're keeping him here until we take him up to his hearing. Best place to do it, right? Whittle's the head of prosecuting criminals, after all." 

"Hm," Ginny said in some sort of agreement. 

"Is it a problem bringing him here? Fudge just suggested it because-"

"Oh, no! It's fine. I was just wondering, is all. It's just they do that with the…_dangerous_ criminals." 

"He'll be bound, Gin, don't worry." 

"I know. I'm not worried."

Harry nodded again. "Well, I would stick around too see the result of all this, but McNair has been arrested for setting off another blasted exploding doormat." 

"Go. I'll let you know if anything happens, Harry," Ginny promised.

"I just hope he gets what he deserves," Harry stated.

"I know you do, but, Harry, he confessed to murder. How is he going to get out of punishment?"

"Knowing Malfoy, someway evil and cunning." Harry sighed, giving Ginny a tired grin before he left.

****

Harry was right about Malfoy arriving any moment. Two or so minutes after Harry left, the door opened, and Malfoy entered, followed by two guards. One took Malfoy, who was bound once again back to the bench he had been on a week before, mumbling instructions to him about his hearing. The other walked up toward Ginny.

"Hi," she greeted in a squeaky voice that wasn't intended.

"Hello. Mr. Malfoy is here for his hearing today."

"Oh, yes. Is-"

"Mr. Fudge will come and escort him up promptly at 3:15. If Malfoy gives you any trouble, you are granted permission to stun him, or if he becomes hostile, you are allowed to use any means of protecting yourself.

Ginny grinned tautly and looked up at Malfoy who was now sitting on the bench alone. He smirked at her. 

"Um, thanks. I'll do that."

The guard bowed his head slightly as a sign of farewell and crossed the room, shooting Draco a warning glance before he left.

"God, they must love you in prison," Ginny sneered once the door shut behind the two men, "They've given me permission to kill you if I need to."

Draco looked unaffected. "I will keep that in mind, Weasley. I shouldn't be here long, though. My hearing's in…" He tried to look down at his wrist that was bound together with his other, only to realize he wasn't wearing a watch. "What time is it?"

"3:10. Five minutes until the process officially begins of shipping you off to Azkaban." Ginny said.

Malfoy shrugged innocently, eyes darting to something over in the corner. "If you say so."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

His eyes flashed back at her. "It means exactly what I said. If you say I will get convicted, I guess I will."

"You're being sarcastic," Ginny said.

"Bravo, Weasley. I'd clap for you, but my hands are a bit tied up at the moment."

Ginny glared, trying to sound as menacing as she could to give him a taste of his own medicine, "Malfoy, you've confessed to two murders. How can you not get convicted?" 

"I confessed to four men who never once questioned me again to see if I was lying. They took my one answer and then told Fudge and had me shipped off, out of the public's eye."

"So, you lied? That's your defense?"

Draco derided again. "Don't seem so surprised, Weasley. It wouldn't be the first time I've lied to-"

"Save your own skin," Ginny snarled.

"I was going to say to officials, but yes, your answer does tend to work too." 

Ginny made a disgruntled sound and hunched back over her desk, quill flying across her paper as she wrote a letter to Susan Woodly, explaining that you couldn't sue a company that made weight loosing potions because you made the potion incorrectly.

There was silence in the room for a minute. Ginny glanced at her watch. 3:14. Fudge was going to be late, which didn't come as a big surprise to Ginny, considering how busy Fudge had been kept recently as the Aurours and hit wizards tried to round up the rest of the Death Eaters lurking around. Malfoy was just one of the few that was being sent to Azkaban.

"You know, when I get off for these murders, I think I'll go to France," Malfoy remarked, breaking the silence between them. Ginny looked up from her letter.

"Don't be so sure you'll get off," she mumbled.

"Why is that? Isn't the Weasley motto 'Be positive' or am I getting it confused with 'have lots of children with red hair'?"

Ginny frowned. "You won't get off. Harry won't let you."

"Perhaps then, when I'm a free man, you should tell Potter to get a life besides turning me in. Maybe even a girl for once."

"Go to hell, Malfoy," she hissed. His eyes glinted with amusement as she said this. It was not the effect she was hoping for.

"Well, if Hell is filled with people like me, I have a feeling I'll make fast friends, won't I?"

Ginny clenched her teeth together and chose to ignore him. At 3:21, the door opened and an out of breath Fudge entered the room.

"Sorry…late," he huffed. "Goblin trouble at Gringots again." He flashed a grin at Ginny.

"No problem," she said stiffly, "Mr. Malfoy's here." 

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. Nice to see you again, unfortunately on terms such as these," Fudge said, grinning at him too. Ginny looked up again, and she saw Draco shooting her one last glance, his eyes flashing.

****

The next morning was Saturday, so Ginny slept in as long as she could, not having to go to work that day. She awoke to a tapping on her window, and her eyes flew open. She jumped out of bed and slipped her slippers onto her feet and dashed to the window, grabbing some money on the way. She didn't know why she was so nervous. It wasn't like she was going to be sent to Azkaban.

She opened the window, and a tawny brown barn owl swooped inside with a newspaper. Wasting no time, she paid the owl five knuts and grabbed The Daily Prophet, tearing it open to the front page.

She was thinking she'd have to scan the pages to find the article she wanted, but right on the front page, she was greeted by a picture of Draco Malfoy, who was- no surprise- smirking up at her. Her eyes flew to the headline that read:

****

Malfoy shipped off to Azkaban with a Kiss! 

The breath she had been holding escaped. She perused the article and read that Draco was convicted guilty for both murders, and that he was being sent off to Azkaban as soon as possible and was on line for the Dementor's Kiss.

Her insides shivered involuntarily at the thought of the Dementor's Kiss. A horrible fate it was, but Malfoy, no doubt, deserved it.

****

The weekend was over too quickly for Ginny, and when she returned to work early on Monday morning, she met an office with people all up and about. 

"No! No!" one lady was yelling inside her office near Ginny's. "I know that Diggle didn't mean it, but tell him that we're too busy today to deal with him blasting off teapots!" 

When Ginny reached her desk, she saw Seamus standing outside of Whittle's doorway, looking down at the days Daily Prophet with a stern expression.

"Seamus, what's going on?" Ginny asked.

Seamus looked up, and his face brightened slightly when he saw Ginny. He threw his copy of the newspaper on Ginny's desk and answered, "This." 

Ginny looked down and saw the headline:

****

MALFOY ESCAPES!

"What?"

"Malfoy's escaped before he was taken to Azkaban, and no one can find him."

****

A/N: Reviews still make my day! Thanks for everyone who reviewed the past chapters. You are the best! I forgot to thank Skippy last chapter for editing, so: Thanks Skippy for putting up with me and editing for me! Next chapter may be delayed as my blasted teachers' goal is to crush us all with a new workload. 


	4. The Serprent

****

Chapter 4: The Serpent

"He's escaped? But…how? He was sent to Azkaban, and only one person has ever made it out of there alive!" Ginny exclaimed. She glanced down at the paper, and there was, for the second time in the past three days, was the familiar picture of Draco.

"That's the thing," Seamus said, picking up the newspaper again, "The bastard was supposed to be shipped off to Azkaban _this _morning, but the guard went to fetch him, and he wasn't there."

Angrily, he flicked the picture of Draco on the front page, grunting at him, though he wasn't present in the room

"How did Harry take Draco's escape?"

Seamus made a face. "Better then I thought. He threw his cup of coffee across the room and hit Westley in the head."

Ginny wished she could say it wasn't like Harry, but when it had to deal with Malfoy, Harry was angered easily.

"Oh. Is he okay?"

"Oh, he's fine. No one in the office likes Westley anyway. He's too stuck up."

"I mean Harry."

Seamus eyed Ginny, pausing. "It's Malfoy. He'll get over him. Besides, he got what he wanted in the long run. By the time the Ministry's done, Malfoy won't be able to make a single galleon off anyone, and he'll be so filthy from running that he'll hopefully kill himself for us."

"You sound hopeful."

Seamus smiled, wrapping his arm around Ginny's waist. "Don't worry your pretty little head about Malfoy. Millions of hit wizards are out for him in every country with the permission to murder him on the spot. He'll be dead before the week's done with."

****

"Est cette salle à votre affection, votre monsieur?" a bellboy asked quickly.

Draco scrunched up his face, trying to figure out what he'd said, before grunting a "Oui."

"Avez-vous des sacs, le monsieur?" 

__

Why do the French talk so damn fast? Have…bags…sir…He tired to make out the words.

"Non."

The man nodded, swaying back and forth on his feet expectantly. He wasn't planning on leaving. Draco would have asked him why he was still in his room if he could have, but the man couldn't understand a word of English. The man cleared his throat. Oh, right. A tip.

Draco fished into his pocket and pulled out two muggle coins. He fingered them and then threw them at the bellboy, who caught them, startled. He glanced down at the coins and back at Draco.

"Want more, do you? Out of my room!" He forgot the bellboy couldn't understand English, and he turned around, frustrated, and forced himself to look out the window.

"Apprécier votre salle, votre monsieur. Bon au revoir." Draco heard the door shut behind him, signaling that he was alone in the room. He turned around again and surveyed the room.

It was uncharacteristically simple for him, especially for a Malfoy. There was a bed, table, and chair in the room. The walls were a terrible teal colour that clashed horribly with the yellow bedspread. He collapsed into an armchair by the window.

God, he hoped this was better then prison. Actually, it might as well be prison; the blasted place didn't even have a bar.

****

Several days later, Draco Malfoy was still at large. The Ministry had spent the days following a lead that turned out to be a dud, and tensions were running high in the office especially from Whittle.

"I don't care! I want you to find anyone who has the slightest clue of where the hell this guy is! He couldn't have disappeared off this earth and remained alive!"

Whittle's voice could be heard clearly from her desk, and most likely down the hallway too. It'd been like this for the past two days now, and Whittle was getting testy. Inside, there was a small mumble as Wade replied to Whittle's remark.

"I know that, Wade! Do I have 'moron' tattooed across my face in big, fat letters? Malfoy was in our office for several hours at least, he had to be stupid enough to let something slip sometime! Talk to his cell mates, his guards, someone who interviewed him, just anyone!"

Ginny looked up on that last word. _Anyone? _She'd had at least five minute conversations with Draco two times. Whittle was convinced he'd given someone clues since Malfoy liked to play mind games, had it been her?

She placed her hand on her forehead, straining to remember every word of their conversations. 

"…Five minutes until the process officially begins of shipping you off to Azkaban." 

"If you say so…"

That didn't really reveal any locations of where he was hiding at, just that he would not be in Azkaban. Or maybe he really believed he wouldn't be found guilty. He was a Malfoy, after all. Who knew what went through his mind except for another Malfoy?

The door of Whittle's office opened, and the two men sauntered out, talking so fast that Ginny couldn't understand what they were saying.

Ginny sighed, feeling slightly defeated as she stood up, taking a file on Magic Carpet Uses to Westley Grant. She knocked politely on his door, but it opened. Before she could say anything, Westley took the papers and nodded his head approvingly.

"Thanks, Weasley."

"Nice to see you back at work, Westley," Ginny said, waving a hand and heading back to her office.

"Glad to be back, though France was absolutely terrific. My wife and I enjoyed the holiday."

Ginny froze. France?

__

"You know, when I get off for these murders, I think I'll go to France…" 

France. Malfoy was in France!

****

Ginny darted back down the hall, knocking frantically on Whittle's door and opening without waiting for him to call her in.

"Malfoy's in-" She stopped because she was talking to an empty office. 

"Weasley, what are you doing?" Surprised, Ginny turned around, running into a unhappy looking Whittle. 

"I was just…"

He looked aggravated. "I don't have times for your 'justs', Weasley. I'm trying to catch a fugitive here!"

"Right, about that. I-"

"Yes, that reminds me. Will you tell Wade that I've scheduled a meeting with the Daily Prophet for this afternoon, and I'd like him to be here. It is your job, right?"

"Yes, sir," grumbled Ginny as she exited his office, shutting the door behind her louder then normal.

__

Well, Ginny decided, _If Whittle won't listen to me, I'll have to find Malfoy on my own._

****

Sébastien, compared to the overall population, lived luxuriously. His mansion stretched over a large mass of land, and he owned at least part of every wizarding business near him. He was happily married to a beautiful wife, Cécile, who, despite her beauty, had only eyes for her husband.

He had it all, some would say, but being the savvy business man he was, he always wanted more. Which is why he even began to partner with Draco Malfoy from England secretly, who assured him they'd have the Ministry collapsed with them running it in no time. The plan had been going smoothly overall. That was until Malfoy was arrested and convicted. Sébastien ended all ties he had to Draco, and when the Ministry of Magic turned up on his doorstep, he was completely "shocked" and "had no clue who this Malfoy man was".

On the morn of December 19, it was crisp and clear, and a cool breeze threatened to bring storms from the north. Sébastien was out on his patio, waiting for breakfast to be served as he examined the day's newspaper. 

Today, he had promised his wife, there would be no business, just the two of them together. It was a promise he'd made her often, though very rarely kept. This is why Cécile was displeased to see a snow white owl swoop down onto the table in front of her husband and dropping a letter.

Sébastien fingered the letter delicately before opening it. The parchment was thick and luxurious, but there was no seal on the outside to indicate the composer. It was obviously not business.

He opened the letter and read:  


__

The deal isn't off yet. I have a way.

D.

Astonished, Sébastien began to reread the letter, but before he could, it exploded and disappeared in thin, silver smoke.

****

That evening when Ginny left the office, determined to find Draco, she realized that she had no clue where to begin. Sure, she had the area narrowed down where he _could_ be, but there were three slight problems with her plan: She wasn't sure Draco was even in France, she didn't know where in France he was, and she couldn't speak bloody French.

When Ginny reached her flat, she had decided that it would be impossible to find Draco Malfoy in France. He obviously didn't want to be found, and if fully-trained Ministry officials couldn't find him, what made her think she could?

As she collapsed on her couch, a plot began to form in her head. She'd just figure out where Draco was. That's all she needed to do. But how? Who would know where Draco was?

His father, was the obvious, but he'd already informed the papers that he had no clue where his son was. Ginny considered Narcissa, Draco's mother, who'd she had seen only once at the Quidditch World Cup when she was about to enter her third year in Hogwarts. Somehow, she didn't strike Ginny as the chatty type.

Ginny thought back to who Malfoy was friends with. Of course there was Blaise and Malcolm, but they were both dead and of no help to Ginny now. Crabbe and Goyle were an option as well, but they were rather big and less likely to talk to Ginny then anyone.

It was apparent that everyone in Draco's "inner circle" weren't going to talk, or else Draco would have been found already. 

If she could just get into Draco's house, she was sure she could find something that would have to give some clues away. Draco had to have accessed _some_ of the Malfoy funds to navigate his way to France- or anywhere for that matter. So, that's it. She'd just go to the Malfoy Manor.

Ginny laughed aloud at the idea. Her showing up on the Malfoy's doorstep saying, "I need to snoop around in Draco's office. Where is it?" was, well, laughable. And sneaking in wouldn't be a wise choice because she'd heard tales about the number of curses placed on the outside of the Malfoy Manor to protect it from intruders. She'd be sliced and diced before she could knock on the door.

Her eyes roamed around the room, lost in thought, until they landed on the fireplace. The fireplace! How simple! She'd use the Floo Network to be transported to the Malfoy Mansion. 

Every house was connected by the Floo Network, wasn't it? And if it wasn't, what did she have to loose?

Ginny bounded off the couch almost immediately. She scrawled a brief note to Collin, her flat mate, explaining that she had to work that night and for him not to expect her home. Which was the truth, or close enough to it.

She grabbed a pinch of floo powder and threw it into her fireplace. The room was lighted by a bright green light as Ginny stepped into the fire, tucking her arms by her sides and shouting clearly,

"The Malfoy Manor!"

****

Ginny screwed her eyes shut as she felt herself being whirled off her feet. Not even two minutes later, she felt herself come to her stop and her feet touch the ground. She peeked out of one eyelid.

Had it worked? 

She opened her other eyelid, and it appeared she had landed in an office. Across the room, there was a desk that was cluttered with parchment, quills, and objects Ginny had never seen before. She stepped out of the fireplace cautiously and looked around.

She wasn't sure if she had made it until she looked on the wall and saw a large portrait of the Malfoy family. Lucuis's eyes were darting around the room viciously. His mouth was twisted into what appeared to be a smile, but one couldn't tell. Narcissa was next to her husband, with a hand on his chest, looking utterly expressionless. And next to his father was Draco, with the infamous Malfoy smirk upon his face. Ginny's insides squirmed as the portrait's occupant's eyes fell upon her.

She crossed the room quickly, not wasting one minute she had in the room. She began to examine the contents on the desk. There were letters from what appeared to be business associates and business deals. She scanned them quickly but found nothing useful.

It was then when she saw it. An open book. She picked it up carefully and read:

Décembre 24 

J'ai revu ce serpent aujourd'hui ! Le père insiste sur le fait qu'il fera vraiment un bon mari pour moi et que nous produirons de beaux enfants ensemble, mais je suis aucun ainsi convaincu. L'homme est ainsi concieted qu'il m'incite à vouloir crier. Je suppose qu'il y a un peu d'humeur, mais est ce vraiment ce qu'est signifié pour un futur roi de la France ?

Ginny snapped the book shut immediately afterward and dropped, hearing what sounded like footsteps coming down the hallway. She began frantically began shuffling through papers, desperate to find something. Anything!

"Master?" a squeaky voice came from outside the door, "Is you being in there?"

Ginny gulped. What to do? Do I run? 

No, the fireplace was across the room and by the door. 

"Damn it!" Ginny cursed under her breath.

"Master, is that you?"

Without thinking, Ginny blurted out in the deepest voice she could,  


"No. Go away."

She held her breath as she waited for the house elf to enter the room and to find her snooping through the desk. Nothing of the sort happened. There was silence. 

She let out her breathe and slid to the floor, still clutching the book in her hands. A piece of parchment floated into her lap. She picked it up and again read:

__

Uncle,

Thank you for caring. France is lovely at this time of year, so I am not "suffering" as you put it. I am returning Draco's ring to you, hoping you will know what to do with it. I'm sorry to say, though, that I have not seen my cousin, and I am disappointed. Perhaps, I will run into him when I venture to Paris.

I wish you and Narcissa the best,

Sébastien

Ginny gaped and reread the letter. Out of it had fallen a silver ring that was oddly familiar. She examined it closer. It was a silver band with a "M" engraved in it with a thin snake wrapped around the letter.

It was Malfoy's ring! 

Well, of course it was, but it was the ring she had seen him wear the day of his hearing. So, he had a cousin. This was really no use, except that the cousin had seen Draco, but where- who knew?

Suddenly, it hit her. She would have probably fallen over if she weren't already on the floor.

This _couldn't_ be a letter from Draco's cousin because that week in the office, she'd heard Whittle yelling that Draco had no cousins, aunts, uncles, or human relatives of any sort. Ginny grinned. 

God, Malfoy, you are so obvious. 

Ginny grinned, grabbing the note and the ring along with the book. She tossed floo powder in the fireplace and stepped inside the fire to head back home.

After all, she would have to pack if she was going to France. 

****

A/N First off, my French translations may be a little off because I had to go to a free translator, but they should be close to what I meant them to say. Second off, reviews are still making my day. Sorry this took so long to get out, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

****

Translations:

__

Est cette salle à votre affection, monsieur?- Is this room to your liking, sir?

__

Oui.-Yes.

__

Avez-vous des sacs, le monsieur?-Do you have any bags, sir?

__

Non- No.

__

Apprécier votre salle, monsieur. _Bon au revoir. _- Enjoy your room, sir. Good-bye.


End file.
